Canada

NOC (National Occupational Classification)

Updated June 2026

Canada's standard system for classifying every job in the economy, maintained by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Statistics Canada. Since the 2021 structural update, each occupation sits in a TEER category (Training, Education, Experience, Responsibilities) numbered 0 through 5, from management and professional roles (TEER 0-1) down through intermediate, apprenticeship, and entry-level work (TEER 2-5) — this replaced the older "Skill Type/Skill Level" system. The NOC/TEER code assigned to a job matters directly for immigration eligibility: Express Entry only counts foreign and Canadian skilled-work-experience points for TEER 0-3 occupations, several Express Entry category-based draws (such as healthcare or STEM occupations) are defined by lists of specific NOC codes within a TEER range, a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) job offer must be matched to the correct NOC code to set the right prevailing wage, and most Provincial Nominee Program streams list eligible occupations by NOC/TEER as well. Applicants find their code by matching their actual duties — not their job title — to the official NOC description, since a mismatch can affect both eligibility and CRS scoring.

Related terms

TermLMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment)A document a Canadian employer must generally obtain from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) before hiring a foreign worker under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, confirming that filling the role with a foreign national will not negatively affect the Canadian labour market. To get a positive LMIA, an employer typically has to advertise the position first (recruitment rules are stricter for lower-wage roles, including an 8-week minimum advertising window and a requirement to target Canadian youth aged 15-30), keep a log of Canadian and permanent-resident applicants and why each was not hired, and show the wage offered matches what Canadians doing the same job are paid. ESDC classifies the role as high-wage or low-wage against the provincial or territorial median wage, which changes which rules apply — low-wage roles face extra caps (generally no more than 10% of a worksite's staff, 15% temporarily in some rural areas) and, since September 2024, are not processed at all in metro areas with 6%+ unemployment except for exempted sectors like agriculture, health care and construction. A positive LMIA lets the worker apply for a work permit tied to that employer and role; it is also the basis for most Express Entry candidates' arranged-employment points and is a prerequisite many Provincial Nominee Program employer-driven streams rely on. Not every foreign worker needs one — some categories (intra-company transfers, CUSMA/USMCA professionals, some Post-Graduation Work Permit holders) are LMIA-exempt.TermPNP (Provincial Nominee Program)A Canadian immigration pathway in which individual provinces and territories (every one except Quebec and Nunavut, which run their own separate systems) nominate candidates for permanent residence who match their specific labour-market or economic needs. Each province runs its own streams — skilled worker, international graduate, entrepreneur, or employer-driven job-offer streams are common — with its own eligibility rules, occupation lists and intake process; there are over 80 distinct streams nationally. Most provinces run two kinds of stream: an 'enhanced' stream aligned with federal Express Entry, where a provincial nomination adds 600 points to a candidate's Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score — enough to make an invitation to apply for permanent residence close to guaranteed at the next draw — and a 'base' (paper-based) stream that operates entirely outside Express Entry with its own, often slower, application process. A nomination is not permanent residence itself; nominees still need to apply to IRCC (through Express Entry or directly, depending on the stream) and pass the standard admissibility, medical and security checks. Canada's 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan sets a PNP admissions target of 91,500 for 2026, a large increase over prior plans, making it one of the fastest-growing routes to Canadian PR.

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